Uçhisar Castle
Uçhisar · Nevşehir, Cappadocia
Photo: Arian Zwegers / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), photo taken 8 March 2013, as published on Street Art Utopia.
Uçhisar Castle is a rock outcrop above the town of Uçhisar in Cappadocia, carved since Roman times into rooms, shelters, storerooms and cisterns. Türkiye's Culture Portal says people lived in and around it until the 1960s. Source Source Checked
Seen Oct 2026 — the Uçhisar municipality reported a children's flag exhibition held at the castle, listed on its homepage on 27 October 2026. Source Reported
💡 4 things to know
- The rock came firstAccording to the Cappadocia Geopark, the castle is a high witness hill left standing where the surrounding Kavak ignimbrite eroded away. Source Reported
- A connected interiorThe Geopark says many rooms are linked by stairs, tunnels and passages, with stone mill doors at their entrances. Erosion has made some rooms unreachable. Source Reported
- Shelter and defenceThe Culture Portal says the castle was an important defence point against Arab raids and kept its importance in the Seljuk and beylik periods. Source Reported
- Pigeons on the north sideAccording to the Geopark, most rooms on the castle's north side are used as pigeon houses today. Source Reported
📍 Where it is
Tekelli Mahallesi, Uçhisar, Nevşehir Province, Türkiye, about 5 km from Nevşehir centre according to the Culture Portal. The castle is open to visitors. Source Source Reported
🗓️ Sightings
- 20138 Mar
Arian Zwegers photographs the castle and town
- 20242 Oct
Anadolu Agency: about 211,000 visitors Jan–Sep 2024
- 202523 Jan
IHA (via Bizim Sakarya): 472,000 visitors in 2024
- 202627 Oct
Municipality: children's flag exhibition at the castle
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.
🗞️ In the sources
“Uçhisar Kalesi, birbirine bitişik iki sivri peribacasından oluşmaktadır.”
Uçhisar Castle consists of two adjoining pointed fairy chimneys.
“1960’lı yıllara kadar içinde ve etrafında yaşanmıştır.”
People lived in and around it until the 1960s.
“Most of the rooms on the north side of the castle are used as pigeon houses today.”
“Roma döneminde tüf kayanın oyulmasıyla yapılan kale, bölgeyi yüksekten izlemek isteyen turistleri ağırlıyor.”
The castle, made by carving tuff rock in the Roman period, hosts tourists who want to view the region from above.
✅ The facts
- Place
- Uçhisar, Nevşehir Province, Türkiye (Tekelli Mahallesi, according to the Culture Portal) Source Source Source Checked
- Height
- Over 50 m (south) and 100 m (north) per the Ministry's Culture Portal; 179 m per Anadolu Agency, citing the municipality Source Source Conflicting
🔗 Related
- Houses in the Wrong Place (12 Photos vol. 2) — Street Art Utopia
- Houses in the Wrong Place (10 Photos) — Street Art Utopia
- Türkiye Culture Portal: Uçhisar Kalesi
- Cappadocia Geopark: Uçhisar Castle
- All Artwork Files
All sources & image credits
- kulturportali.gov.tr: Uçhisar Kalesi (Uçhisar Castle; in Turkish)
- kapadokyajeopark.com.tr: Uçhisar Castle
- aa.com.tr: Kapadokya'yı Uçhisar Kalesi'nin zirvesinden … 211 bin turist izledi (about 211,000 tourists watched Cappadocia from the top of Uçhisar Castle; 2 October 2024)
- bizimsakarya.com.tr: Uçhisar Kalesi'nin ziyaretçi sayısı yarım milyona yaklaştı (Uçhisar Castle visitors near half a million; 23 January 2025)
- uchisar.bel.tr: Minik ellerden Uçhisar Kalesi'nde bayrak sergisi (Flag exhibition by little hands at Uçhisar Castle; 27 October 2026)
- Wikimedia Commons: Uçhisar Castle by Arian Zwegers (CC BY 2.0)
- Image: Arian Zwegers / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), as published on Street Art Utopia; a 16:9 share version was made from it.
Last checked: 31 October 2026. How we verify art